German war cemeteries in Italy

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German military cemetery in Merano

There are numerous German war cemeteries in Italy from both the First and Second World Wars . For the First World War they are mainly in the north, for the Second World War they are spread over the whole country.

First World War

Before the First World War, Italy was allied in the so-called Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and the German Reich , but in 1914 refused to take part in the war on the side of the Central Powers . Instead, it entered the war on May 23, 1915 on the side of the Allies, after they had granted it various territorial claims (including South Tyrol). In the same year Germany supported the Danube Monarchy and set up the so-called Alpine Corps , which was relocated to South Tyrol in May 1915, where it remained until autumn. From August 1916, Germany was formally at war with Italy.

There are six German war cemeteries in Italy for those who fell in the First World War in Bozen , Brixen , Bruneck , Feltre , Pordoi and Quero . More than 18,400 German casualties lie on them. After the conclusion of a German-Italian war graves agreement in 1937, they were put together there by the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge.

Second World War

After the end of the Second World War, over 107,000 German casualties rested in more than 3,000 locations in field graves, small provisional grave complexes or in cemeteries that had still been established by the Wehrmacht (including in Cervia ). Since it was not possible to preserve these numerous facilities, which were scattered all over Italy, the Federal Republic of Germany concluded a war graves agreement with Italy in 1955, which provided for them to be put together in eight permanent war cemeteries. This happened from the beginning of 1956 and was completed in September 1964.

German war cemeteries in Italy

graveyard First World War Second World War
Bolzano 2,062 174
Brixen 1,748 106
Brunico 793 25th
Cagliari 436
Cassino 20,100
Costermano 22,000
Feltre 271
Futa pass 30,800
Meran 1,058
Milis 46
Motta St. Anastasia 4,561
Pomezia 27,500
Pordoi 8,582 849
Quero 3,463
total 16,919 107,655

Remarks

  1. There is also an Austro-Hungarian military cemetery (Cimitero Militare Austro-Ungarico) on the Italian military memorial Sacrario di Redipuglia .
  2. 27,443 German soldiers rest in the German military cemetery in Pomezia. 6,491 of them died in 1944 during the fighting in Operation Shingle near Anzio and Nettuno. German soldiers who had died in southern and central Italy were later buried here. There are 3,700 graves with unknowns.
  3. The soldiers buried in Motta Sant'Anastasia were wounded from North Africa who died in hospitals in Sicily, as well as those who were killed during and after the Allied landings in Sicily in July 1943, such as an aircraft attack on a warship in the port of Messina , died. Of the 4,561 dead, 451 remained unknown.
  4. The Central Memorial for 21,920 fallen German soldiers from the Second World War is located in Costermano.
  5. The Austrian military cemetery in Bozen is the memorial for those South Tyroleans who died as Austrian soldiers in the First World War and as German soldiers in the Second World War.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Brochure of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge on German war gravesites in Italy (PDF; 367 kB) accessed on March 3, 2017.
  2. ↑ Pomezia War Cemetery , accessed on March 3, 2017.
  3. ^ Motta Sant'Anastasia war cemetery , accessed on March 3, 2017.
  4. ↑ Costermano war cemetery , accessed on March 3, 2017.

Web links

Commons : German war cemeteries in Italy  - collection of images, videos and audio files